Teaching materials

To address the lack of university-level learning resources focusing on the experience of developing countries, the Vi develops teaching material that is accessible, up-to-date and policy-oriented. The material is used in whole or in part for course preparation or as background reading.

Based on recent feedback from the network’s teachers, 90 per cent of the respondents used the Vi teaching materials with an average of 540 students.

To make the material more relevant to their countries’ realities, the Vi supports universities in adapting – or “localizing” – the material to their specific needs, by adding local case studies and data or by translating the material into their own languages. Since 2004, the Vi has produced 13 sets of teaching materials, which have generated 30 adaptations to the contexts of 16 countries, as well as translations into Arabic, Chinese, French, Nepali, Persian, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Since 2007, the Vi has also been contributing to the enrichment of members’ libraries with semi-annual shipments of UNCTAD publications and Vi teaching materials and resources. So far, the Vi has distributed 21,700 books, research reports and CDs to the membership.

Teaching materials are only accessible to members of the network if they are logged in to the site.